Re: PTO Generator

I'm pretty sure Northern Tool and places like that have them. Dealers, especially in dairy areas, probably have them setting in their show rooms.

A couple of comments about them: Since it takes time to put them on, they aren't the best for emergency backup supply to a house. They are also fairly expensive since most are matched to typical PTO and tend to put out pretty big KW's. I'm not sure it's desirable to put a generator that could be driven by a 12hp-gas engine on a 24hp tractor. It seems like a good idea to think through the power requirements.

If you get one, it's a good idea to get one that has a frequency meter. Electric motors are quite sensitive to the AC line frequency. Running a tractor slow produces a low frequency that can burn out electric motors. At least with my hand throttle, it's hard to set the tach right on the 540 pto mark, and I wouldn't be sure how a pto speed error translates into AC frequency error. However, somebody did say that plugging an electric clock with a second hand into the generator supply could check frequency by comparing the seconds to a battery operated clock.

The tractor should be 'over-powered' for the generator. If it's possible for an electrical load to lug the engine, then the AC frequency falls, and electric motors burn out. With an over-powered tractor, the generator mains would pop before the engine lugs.

If the generator is for a new application, what the generator will run should be considered. There are quite a few codes most places that have to be met for a generator to be hooked to anything also supplied by the electric utility. For example here codes require that generator supplies be wired through transfer switches that have 3-point breakers (two hots plus the neutral) and cannot physically have both the utility and the generator supply on at the same time.

The code requirements can be a bit of trouble and can easily turn a big generator project into a smaller one.

Re: PTO Generator

I know this thread is old, but I'm really interested in this concept. Seems to me that the savings from not buying another engine translates into more attachment (just like all the toys, er, attachments we buy for our tractors [img]/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif[/img].
Does anyone here actually use a PTO generator, especially have you been able to compare a decent stand alone to a PTO? By decent, I guess I mean not asking for a campout generator to run my furnace and refridgerator all week [img]/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif[/img].

Also, I have heard before that the smaller "home" generators have the draw back of not truly being meant to run for hours on end... think about trying to get a lawn mower to run continuously for 24 hrs [img]/w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif[/img]. Any feedback on that thought?

Re: PTO Generator

I have never used a PTO generator, nor have I heard from anyone who has. However, I have looked into it. Here are the pros and cons from my view:
Pro: you can generate a lot of power for a lot less money assuming you already have the tractor.
Con: you are putting a lot of wear and tear on a very expensive tractor (this assumes you use the generator very often).

My theory is that you only have the generator for backup in very rare circumstances which may actually never happen. The PTO generator is a lot less money than a stand alone generator (which may never get used either).

Therefore, I guess I'm convinced it is a good deal if it is truly for an emergency situation. I recommend checking out http://www.hardydiesel.com before you buy. Again, I don't know from personal experience but they seem to be a good company.

Re: PTO Generator

My thinking exactly. I've only wished I had a generaor once in 15 years.. the ice storm had my electricity off for a week back in '91 [img]/w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif[/img]. I would have been glad of it other times when the power was out for a few hours at a time, but those I could live with.

I think that if I had it I might also appreciate it occasionally down in the lower fields [img]/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif[/img]

Re: PTO Generator

I sized my tractor, a JD 4700, with the posibility of getting a PTO generator. From price/performance perspective the PTO gensets are the way to go. You can get quite a bit of amps/watts for a few thousand dollars. Trying to get the same power with a standalone would cost quite a bit more.

I would only use a generator if the power was out for more than a day. Most outages are very short. However, after several ice/snow storms and hurricanes where I have seen outages lasting in weeks, we will need a power backup.

I figure the tractor is the best way to power the house. Hopefully I'll never have to use the thing but the house will be setup to accept the generator if we need to run it. I would rather maintain just one engine, the tractors, than have to worry about another engine. If I put hours on the tractor engine, well ain't that why we buy a tractor? I knew a guy that would buy cars and not drive them on trips. He would drive the cars around town putting the hard miles on the cars and then would rent a car to go on trips so keep his milage down. Sure seem to be cutting his nose to spite his face. 8-)

The only concern I have with the PTO generator is keeping the engine RPM so that the power frequency is correct.

I run my tractor mostly from 1500 RPMs to maybe 2000. I'm getting well under .4 gallons per hour. I saw a generator somewhere that I think said it ran at 1800 RPMs. I can create alot of power off one tank of fuel if that is true.

Re: PTO Generator

Careful about those RPMs. Usually they are talking about the actual speed the generator needs to run properly. That means the generator you are remembering was either for a monster tractor ( I think a few of those have speed settings for their PTOs) or was one that would require a stand alone engine. The true tractor/PTOgenerators need a 540 RPM power source, then go through a gear box to get the generator spinning at the designed 1200-2400 RPMs.

If that doesn't work search on "Generator PTO"
I didn't notice people jumping all over these, I think it's a dealer trolling for fish.<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by Muhammad on 01/19/01 11:44 PM (server time).</FONT></P>